A Tattoo-Removal Cream? It Could Happen!

It Could Happen

So maybe you’re rethinking the decision to get that nonconformist barb-wire tattoo, which actually turned out to be ubiquitous (not to mention how it’s going to look down the road with some wrinkles in it).

PhD student Alec Falkenham at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, invented a tattoo-removal cream that delivers drugs to white blood cells called macrophages, making them release the ink they took up in order to protect your skin during tattooing. Cipher Pharmaceuticals, which bought worldwide rights to the cream last year, said the investigational process could be a viable alternative to the cost and pain of laser treatments.

Experiments on pigs’ ears have been encouraging. However, the process of clinical trials and other regulatory hurdles could mean it’ll be 5-10 years before the product goes on the market.